Protecting You
by uluvme
Summary: GABPAY "With this ring I promise three things: to always love you, to always protect you, and to one day, if you’ll let me, replace it with an engagement ring and later on, a wedding ring."


_**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical, Marques Houston's 'Favorite Girl', South of Nowhere or Soul Calibur.**_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Up the walkway and through the first door, she turned left then up two flights of stairs. Looking left, and then right searching for one person amongst the sea of many. Zoning out the voices she recalled what she had been told the other day and curved right, walking past unimportant teens. None of them mattered to her; she was a madwoman seeking out vengeance for the one person she cared most, the one she had long ago given her heart to. Reaching locker 515 she saw him, that idiot was just standing there laughing with his friends without a care in the world.

In a matter of seconds Sharpay had Troy pinned against his locker, right hand around the latter's throat with her left hand bunching the collar. Icy brown eyes met those masked with shock for only a few seconds before changing into glistening arrogance. They both knew why she was there and they both knew they were in school but it didn't matter; one wanted revenge and the other had a reputation to protect. It wasn't that "bad boy, chain-smoking, I don't give a damn what you think" kind of reputation, it was that "I'm better than you because I'm bigger and stronger and because I can, I _will_ hurt you if you get in my way" type of reputation.

With an extra shove Sharpay looked at the jock with fire in her eyes, almost daring him to do something to piss her off more than she already was. So much anger was flowing through her right now that she would willingly take out anyone that went between her and her mission. She had spent the weekend making sure that – wait. Let's rewind back to the night of the crime.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**Party: Last Weekend**

It was a Saturday night and Gabriella was at a party with some friends. She was currently talking to Taylor, Chad, Kelsi and Ryan when she feels a slender arm go around her waist as another hand appears in front of her with a drink.

"Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic," says the owner of the arm and hand. As she took the drink the arm joins its counterpart around her waist. She didn't need to turn to see who was behind her; it could only be one person: Sharpay.

"Thank you."

The two have been going out for sometime now, just a little over a year. Their first meeting was disastrous; she was the new girl in school and had no idea where she was going (East High is obviously a big school), Sharpay was carrying a large stack of papers for the Drama Club and wasn't paying attention to where she was going. I think it's self explanatory what had happened; they both ended on the floor, paper scattered everywhere.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"_Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I was trying to find my homeroom," the brunette started as she began to help pick up the scattered pages. _

"_Don't worry about it. I wasn't really paying attention," the blonde replied. She reached for a piece the same time as the other girl did; her hand landing on top of the brunette's. Quickly pulling her hand back she looked up and found herself staring into the deepest brown eyes she's ever seen. Sure her eyes were also brown, but this girl's were filled with so much innocence and sincerity that she felt her mere presence would taint the other girl._

_Diverting her gaze back down, she got back to the task at hand. Once everything was picked up, both girls stood, an awkward silence enveloping them. Being the bolder of the two the blonde stuck her hand out. "Hi, I'm Sharpay."_

"_Oh. Um, Gabriella," the brunette responded as she shyly reached out to shake the other girl's hand._

"_So …" the blonde drew out as they continued to stand there. "You said that you were looking for your homeroom, are you new?"_

"_Um, yeah. My mom and I just moved from San Diego. And as you can see I've been hopelessly trying to find my homeroom."_

"_Well, maybe I can be of service. Who do you have?"_

"_Um," the brunette said as she got out her schedule. "Some lady named 'Darbus'."_

_Upon hearing the new revelation the blonde's eyes perked with interest. "Really? I have Darbus, too. Just got back making copies for her. We should go before the bell rings."_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The two girls became fast friends, if you found one the other wouldn't be far behind. Sharpay introduced Gabriella to her drama friends as well as those from the Scholastic Decathlon after hearing about her numerous academic interests and achievements.

After several weeks of friendship and obvious attraction, Sharpay had finally asked the shy brunette out on a date. Gabriella had said yes and the rest was history. The two had received a few negative responses from some of their peers (damn homophobes) but their friends and families had supported them, and that was all the two needed. They were both so nervous when they had decided to tell their parents after keeping their relationship a secret for two weeks, hoping that they would accept them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"_Mami, can we talk to you?" the young Latina asked nervously as she and her companion walked towards the kitchen island where Maria Montez was currently chopping vegetables._

"_Sure sweetie. What is it?" As the older woman placed the knife down Sharpay eyed it fearfully, hoping that her girlfriend's mom wouldn't try to kill her._

"_Um, Mami you would love me no matter what I choose to do right? No matter _whom_ I choose right?"_

"_Ella, honey are you saying that you have finally chosen to date someone?" Maria asked curiously before a smile broke out. "Oh mija that's wonderful! So when do I get to meet this boy?"_

_The two teenagers shared a look before Gabriella took a deep breath. "That's just it Mami, there's no boy."_

"_So you aren't seeing anyone?" her mother asked, a tad bit disappointed._

"_I am."_

"_But you just said –"_

"_I'm not seeing a guy. I'm dating Sharpay Mami," the brunette explained as she grabbed a hold of the blonde's hand and laced their fingers together._

_There was a long pause in which no one spoke. Gabriella was hoping that her mother would be okay with this, Sharpay was hoping that Maria wasn't going to pick that knife up and stab her, Maria was hoping that –_

"_Are you happy together?"_

"_Yes," Gabriella said without hesitation. "We're happy together; she makes me very happy Mami."_

"_Then that's all I ask for," Maria stated as she walked around the island to stand in front of the two girls. Opening her arms she pulled her daughter into a sweet embrace before looking at the other girl. "Take care of my daughter Sharpay; don't break her heart."_

"_I wouldn't dream of it," the blonde spoke for the first time since entering the kitchen. "You have my word Mrs. Montez."_

"_Call me Maria, dear."_

_One down, Two to go._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Sharpay and Gabriella apprehensively walked into the Evans mansion hand-in-hand and saw Ryan and Kelsi watching movies in the family room. Smiling at the nervous couple Ryan informed his sister that their parents were out in the backyard and he and Kelsi wished them both luck._

_As they opened the door leading to the backyard Gabriella gently squeezed Sharpay's hand once more before letting It go all together, both missing the warmth of the other._

"_Mommy, Daddy, may Gabriella and I have a word with the two of you?"_

"_Of course Princess," Michael Evans said as he and his wife, Lauren, looked towards the two. "What do you want to talk about?"_

"_Well, I don't know where to start actually."_

"_You know you can tell us anything sweetheart," Lauren goaded with a smile._

"_Um, okay. You see, it's like this," the blonde stuttered. "Gabriella and I have been hanging out a lot since she moved here and she's been a really good friend."_

"_I'd say. She probably here more than we are," Lauren joked as her husband agreed._

"_Well, the thing is we're not just friends anymore …"_

"_Is this about you two dating?" her mother asked with a raised eyebrow._

"_Yes, this is about – Wait. What?" The two teens looked bewildered as they stared at the older couple before them._

"_Oh sweetie, we knew you two were going out," Lauren confessed._

"_Honestly, we thought it would've been sooner than this," Michael added._

"_So you both knew and you're okay with it?" Sharpay asked with hope._

"_Of course Princess. Gabriella is a wonderful girl and we've never seen you happier and fuller of life than when you two are together," Michael stated as he and Lauren smiled kindly at both girls._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Gabriella was brought back to reality when she felt her girlfriend nuzzling her neck. Turning her attention to her, she offered her a smile that was quickly returned. Glancing down Gabriella smiled at the sight; sitting upon both hers and Sharpay's left ring fingers were matching promise rings that Sharpay had presented to her on their nine month anniversary.

After a romantic dinner for two at Lava Springs on the golf course the two took a walk before Sharpay surprised her with the promise rings. They both knew they were still young, barely turning seventeen that year, but they also knew that their love would be able to withstand any obstacle they will face in the future. They believed that they were soul mates, two halves of a whole, the yin to the other's yang. Nothing would be able to tear them apart; any struggles would simply make them stronger.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_The moonlight illuminated two figures walking along the golf course of Lava Springs hand-in-hand until they reached the lake, both holding boxes containing a present for the other. They sat down so they were facing each other before quietly exchanging the gifts. Arguing over who went first they decided on playing "Paper, Scissor, Rock" in which the brunette won resulting in the blonde opening her gift first._

_Sharpay carefully tore the pink wrapping paper wanting to torture her girlfriend by taking her time. Once the task was complete she opened the box and found an 8x11 scrapbook. The font was designed with the words such as "Gabpay 4eva", "Gabriella & Sharpay always", and other sorts in different font types. Quickly leafing through the pages she found various pictures of the two of them together on dates as well as hanging out with the group on several occasions; she also saw numerous pages filled with writing._

_Looking at the brunette sitting anxiously in front of her she whispered three words, "I love it."_

"_I know it's not much but I wanted something to remember the past year together as well as when we first met. That's what the first page is about: my thoughts on when I first met you."_

_Unable to contain herself the blonde launched herself on Gabriella, capturing her lips in a searing kiss trying to convey as much love as possible with that one gesture. _

"_This means the world to me."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yeah, I love it and I love you for being so thoughtful," Sharpay said as she pulled her girlfriend in for another kiss. After what seemed like a lifetime the two pulled apart. "Now it's your turn."_

_Unlike her blonde companion the brunette quickly tore at the wrapping paper and opened the small box to reveal another box, this one a velvet red. She looked up to find Sharpay looking apprehensive before opening the box. She found two identical rings in the box. They were silver bands that connected double open hearts together._

_(I love it! Simple, yet cute. .)_

_Sharpay tentatively reached forward, taking the box out of the other girl's hands. Taking the ring with 'Sharpay' engraved on the inside she placed the box down between them before taking Gabriella's left hand. "Um, I'm not good with this romantic stuff," she started, staring into those innocent brown eyes. "Now this isn't an engagement ring or anything, it's a promise ring. The two hearts obviously represent ours and with my name engraved on this ring I'm giving you mine, I'm placing it in your care. I've been told that loving someone is giving them the ability to break your heart but trusting them not to. I trust you with everything I have and I know deep inside that you would never hurt me, just like I would never hurt you. I know we've only been together for nine months but I think that you're it for me. With this ring I promise three things: to always love you, to always protect you, and to one day, if you'll let me, replace it with an engagement ring and later on, a wedding ring." Taking a deep breath Sharpay asked, "Gabriella Ann Montez will you accept my promises?"_

_By now Gabriella was beyond speechless so she merely nodded her head 'yes' as tears threatened to fall. When the ring was placed on her left ring finger she gave Sharpay a kiss, putting everything she had into it to show how much she cared about the other girl. Sniffing a little she motioned to the box between them. "What about that ring?"_

_Picking the box up the blonde handed it to the love of her life. "This ring is yours until you find me worthy of holding your heart, if ever."_

_Gabriella took the ring out from between the cushions, examining her name engraved on the inside. Reaching forward, she surprised Sharpay by taking her left hand and sliding the ring onto her ring finger. "My heart's been yours for awhile now."_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A cell phone disrupted the brunette's train of thought. Reaching into her pocket Sharpay retrieved her phone and, offering an apologetic smile, went in search of a quiet room to take the call. Time passed and she was back at her girlfriend's side. Quickly explaining that she and Ryan had to get back home she offered to bring her girlfriend home but the offer was declined, Gabriella claiming that she wanted to stay with her friends for a little longer and could get a ride with Taylor. Agreeing to her plan Sharpay and Ryan said good night, gave their respective girlfriends kisses and left the house.

Once she was out the door Troy made a beeline to the unsuspecting teenage girl. He had had his eye on her all night, watching her dance being the highlight of it all; if only she wasn't in the arms of that drama bitch Sharpay. Troy was set on showing her that being with him would be ten times better than a weak little dyke, and if she didn't respond satisfyingly then he could resort to violence. You see Troy wasn't one to think hitting the female race is immoral, he would do just about anything in order to get his way.

Appearing in front of the current object of his affection he tried to get her to dance with him. After many attempts he mentally promised himself that he would get her by the end of the night. Settling himself on one side of the room, drink in one hand, he followed Gabriella with his eyes looking for the right time to strike.

Forty-five minutes later the opportunity appeared as Gabriella made her way upstairs, by herself. Stealthily following the girl he made his way into the room and shut the door, but because the idiot who owned the house didn't believe in privacy none of the bedroom doors had locks on them. Gabriella displayed much resistance as she continually tried to fight Troy off of her, but in the end he landed a few punches on her. Having received a hit across her face and one in her gut Gabriella went down. Troy only had time to unbutton her jeans when the door slammed open, revealing Chad and Taylor in a heated lip-lock. Upon seeing Troy hovering over a pain stricken Gabriella Chad became enraged, pulling the larger guy off her.

The two fought as Taylor went to see how her best friend was. Being the bigger of the two Troy was able to over power his opponent. Taking one last look at the girls on the bed he vocally promised Gabriella that she would be his one way or another. "Don't worry; I'm not done with you yet."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Baby all I wanna do is hold you  
And show you how much I adore you  
Want you, need you  
Baby, you're . . . you're my favorite girl  
Baby you're the only one  
I wanna give you the world_

Yea, you're . . . you're my favorite girl  
You really, really got it going on  
Everything that a man could want  
You're my favorite girl  
Hmm, you're my favorite girl

Half asleep the tired blonde wondered why her girlfriend was calling her at such a late hour. Glancing at the time she answered her phone.

"Brie? Baby, why are you calling me at one in the morning?" the drama queen asked as she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes, her head still on her pillow.

"Shar, something happened."

Jolting up in bed Sharpay became alert. "Tay, why do you have Brie's phone? What happened?"

"Can you just come downstairs and open the door? We're in front of your house right now."

Snapping her cellular shut the blonde shot out of her room and quickly down the stairs, ripping the front door open. Low and behold Chad's Mustang was sitting in her driveway. The young man stood next to an open door revealing Taylor and Gabriella sitting in the back seat, the Latina clinging onto the African American girl.

"Chad, what happened?" Sharpay demanded, shocked at seeing her love so broken. Hearing the blonde, Gabriella's head rose up, tears streaming down her face. Witnessing the fear in her eyes as well as what looked like a red hand print on her cheek Sharpay's heart clenched.

"How about we get her upstairs first," Taylor suggested. "She's still pretty shaken up."

Chad swiftly carried Gabriella up to Sharpay's room as the other two quietly followed behind. When the blonde demanded, for the third time, to know what had happened Taylor moved to Gabriella's side on the bed as Chad pulled Sharpay to the other side of the room.

"Chad, please tell me what happened."

Hearing the desperation in her voice the basketball player placed his hands on her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. "Bolton tried to rape her."

"WHA-" Before she could get out what she was about to say Chad had clamped her mouth shut with his hand.

"Shar it's okay. Fortunately, Tay and I stumbled into the room before anything happened," he reassured her. Sternly he added, "Now I don't want you to do anything okay. I'll find that bastard and deal with him. Just stay with Gabi and take care of her." With that he and Taylor bid their goodbyes and left the house.

Gazing at the shaken girl Sharpay hurriedly went to her closet to retrieve a change of clothes. Getting down on her knees in front of the girl she quietly spoke. "Let's get you into something more comfortable, okay Baby?"

Nodding mutely Gabriella allowed Sharpay to help her get out of her own clothes and into a pair of pajama bottoms and tank top, wincing when she noticed the forming bruise on the brunette's abdomen. Once the task was done, Sharpay placed the clothes into the hamper and crawled into bed next to her girlfriend. After getting under the covers she opened her arms, allowing the other girl to mold herself against her side. Placing several kisses upon the brunette's face and lips she whispered words of comfort until they both fell asleep, clutching one another.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Waking up to the sunlight streaming through her curtains Sharpay squinted at the girl in her arms. Eyes widened when she saw the forming bruise upon her beloved's cheek, the sunlight allowing her to see how dark it had gotten over night. Her eyes began to water and her chest tightened as she began to blame herself for what had happened the night before. Leaning down she placed feather light kisses on the mark, silently wishing for it, the one on the other girl's abdomen and the horrible remnants of last night to disappear.

"Pay?" a soft whisper broke her out of her reverie. "Baby, why are you crying?"

_I'm crying?_ The blonde wonders. Touching a hand to her cheek she realizes that the tears in her eyes had fallen. Hands caress her cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"Baby?" Gabriella is filled with worry, wanting to know why her girlfriend is in such a state.

"I'm sorry," came the hoarse reply. "I'm so, so sorry."

Getting up Gabriella pulled Sharpay onto her lap, one arm going around her waist and the other cupping her cheek. Still overflowing with confusion the brunette waited in silence for the other girl to speak. This was so strange; Sharpay was usually the one who comforted her. The blonde rarely ever showed weakness, rarely ever cried. Now it seems like the roles have been switched and Gabriella needs to be the strong one.

After she had calmed down she lifted her head gazing once again at the forming bruise. Cupping the bruised cheek she lightly grazed her thumb over the mark causing the brunette to grimace a little. "If I had been there last night this wouldn't have happened. I promised to protect you. I should've been there to -"

The rest of her sentence was cut off as Gabriella silenced her with a chaste kiss. Pulling back Gabriella rested her forehead against that of her girlfriend's. "Please don't blame yourself; you didn't know this was going to happen. Yes, it was terrible. I was so scared when I turned around and saw him but Tay and Chad were there to save me."

"I hate him," Sharpay whimpered.

"I know baby, I hate him too. But we can't let this scare us out of living our lives," Gabriella responded. "Now I'm sure Chad got the guys together and they're going to do something. Can you promise me that you'll let this go? Can you promise me that you won't do anything stupid? I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't think I can handle it if something happened to you."

Sharpay didn't know what to say, she was feeling so emotional right now. She was scared for her girlfriend, she was pissed off at Troy, she hated herself for letting this happen, and she was grateful for friends like Taylor and Chad.

"I promise." She had never lied to Gabriella before.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**Present**

And that brings us back to the present where Sharpay has Troy pinned to his locker. Seeing the arrogance in his eyes Sharpay slapped him across the face with as much force as she could muster. When Troy had recovered from the hit he grabbed the hand that was bunching his shirt and pushed the blonde away from him and retaliated with a slap of his own.

"Listen here little miss diva," Troy began before a hand landed on his shoulder, turning him around. He had no time to react as the same hand punched him across the jaw.

"Don't you _ever_ touch my sister or Gabriella _ever again_," Ryan threatened.

Chuckling as he wiped the blood from his lip Troy turned to his opponent. "Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop me drama boy? You?"

"He might not be able to stop you but we sure as hell will," a voice declared. The crowd that gathered to see the fight, the blonde twins and the arrogant asshole all turned to see Chad with the entire basketball team behind him, along with a number of other jocks who had befriended the smart brunette since she arrived at East High. "Where have you been Bolton? It seemed as if you skipped town after that stunt you pulled. You wouldn't happen to be hiding, would you?"

"Now why would I need to hide Danforth?" Troy asked in his cocky tone. He saw all those jocks before him and knew he wouldn't stand a chance if they all attacked but there was no way he was backing down.

Chad stepped forward, effectively putting himself between Troy and Ryan, who had dashed to his sister's side once the group had shown up in order to see if she was okay. "You're lucky you're Coach's kid or I wouldn't have a problem beating you down right here."

"Oh. Like how you were able to on Saturday?" Troy said with a smirk. "Cos I'm pretty sure I won that night."

"Whatever," Chad scoffed. "I was off that night."

"Funny, I was trying to _get off_ but you ruined my fun," Troy taunted as all of the jocks' jaws tightened noticeably and they all took a step forward. Tilting his head to the side he addressed the female Evans twin. "Tell me _Shar_; how does it feel to be inside Gabriella? Is she a screamer? I just wanna know for when I do get her alone, when I'm pounding into her and she's screaming my na-"

Sharpay was about to lung when Ryan beat her to it. The group stood stunned as they watched the smaller blonde repeatedly hit Troy across the face. "Don't you – punch – dare – punch – talk about Gabriella – punch – like that you – punch – fuckin' – punch, punch – bastard!"

Something seemed to snap a minute later when Chad tried to pull Ryan off, seeing that Troy was nearly unconscious.

"ZEKE! JASON! Help me get Evans off him!" The two were reluctant to follow orders as they, as well as the other jocks, agreed that Bolton had deserved it. He had been lucky that it was Ryan that got to him first or else he'd be dead by now. Gabriella was the sweetest girl in the whole school and most of the jocks see her as their little sister; they were ready to protect and defend her at any time.

"Come on Ryan! That's enough damage. We don't want him dead," Zeke tried to reason as he and Jason held the blonde boy back.

"Yet," Jason added.

As Ryan continued to struggle Sharpay walked past some of the jocks who were shielding her in case something happened. Like Gabriella she was like a sister to them. Enveloping him in a hug she addressed her twin. "Ry it's okay. I don't think he's gonna try anything else. Thank you."

Chad knelt down on the floor where Troy lied; grabbing a hold of his collar he pulled the other teen up until they were face to face. "Guess next time we'll just sick Ryan on you. Leave Gabi alone. Don't talk to her; don't look at her; don't even think about her. And that goes for all of our girls. More than half of East High's population hates you Bolton so if you try anything here be sure that one of us will hear about it. And don't even think about telling your daddy what happened. Wildcats stick together so if one of us doesn't play none of us do, and the state championship is the most important thing to him right now. Besides, how would it look if Coach were to find out the reason you ended up like this? You're not that stupid Bolton, one foot out of line and the next time you eat is gonna be through a tube."

Shoving the other boy back Chad got up. "Okay people disperse! There's nothing to see here!" The guys that Troy was talking to earlier (who cowered away when Chad and the guys came along) picked Troy up and left along with the crowd. Looking at the other athletes he added, "Hey, thanks for the back up you guys. I think we've got it from here."

"No problem man," Derrick, captain of the football team, replied. "Gabi's like our little sister, and no one messes with our family."

"Says the guy who asked her out like five times and got shot down every time," Zeke joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Hey, you can't make a girl straight. If she isn't interested then she isn't interested."

"And you found out after what, the third time?" Sharpay asked, voice sugary sweet.

"Aw come on Shar, Gabi's hella fine! You can't blame a guy for trying," Derrick said with a grin. Looking at the time he added, "Alright, you need us for anything else you know where to find us. But I'm guessing you won't if Evans keeps hitting like that. Let's go you guys."

"Thank you!" Sharpay shouted out to them as they walked away.

"You're Welcome!" came the response from over a dozen athletes.

Once the hall deserted the only ones left were Chad, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke and Jason. "I'm sorry you guys had to get involved in this. I should've been able to deal with it myself."

"Hey, hey, hey," Ryan reprimanded as he wrapped an around her shoulders. "You're my sister, and Gabi's practically family so as long as we're around you won't have to deal with this stuff on your own. What he did was beyond terrible and we needed to put a stop to it."

"Yeah Shar, with us around you have nothing to worry about," Chad added. A moment of silence hung over them until, "Didn't I tell you not to do anything and that we were going to deal with this?"

"Um, you might have mentioned something like that."

"Shar."

"What? What's done is done and he only got one hit in, I'm fine!"

Pinching the bridge of his nose Chad sighed. "Next time please listen, if Ryan hadn't gotten here in time we don't know what could've happened."

"I know," the blonde groaned. "I'm sorry."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Hey, where have you been? I thought we were skipping today," Gabriella asked from her position on her girlfriend's bed.

"I had to meet up with Kelsi to talk about some new songs for the upcoming musical."

"Is that all?" the brunette asked with a raised brow.

Setting her purse and phone down on her bedside drawer Sharpay leant over to kiss Gabriella on her non-bruised cheek. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, I just got off the phone with Tay and she mentioned something about a commotion going on at school. I thought you might know something about it."

"No, what happened?" the blonde asked, deciding to play dumb.

"Apparently this blonde chick went up to some guy, pinned him to his locker and proceeded to slapping him across the face only to get slapped right back. Then, another blonde, this time male, comes up and punches the guy for slapping the blonde girl. Then, there was yelling and in the end the blonde boy attacks the other guy until he is nearly unconscious," Gabriella retells what Taylor had told her earlier when she had been woken up to her phone ringing. "Now, Sharpay, I'm going to ask you again. Where have you been?"

Sharpay internally flinched; Gabriella only ever called her by her full name when she was mad at her. "I went to school. I wanted to get back at him for what he did to you."

"Why? Didn't I ask you to let this go? You promised me that you would! Why would you lie to me?" Gabriella asked as she got up from the comfort of the bed and began pacing back and forth along its length.

"Brie, listen to me please," the blonde tried to reason as she grabbed her girlfriend's wrist. Leaning against her headboard she pulled the other girl until she sat between her legs, her chest pressing against her back and her arms wrapped securely around her waist. "Baby, you've got to calm down."

"Sharpay, let go of me. I'm still mad at you. You _promised_ you wouldn't do anything but you went and did it anyways," Gabriella struggled. "How am I supposed to trust you? You're already lying to me now."

"Because I love you," was the reply as the blonde buried her face into the brown curls in front of her. "Because you know I only do these things because I want to protect you. Because I _promised_ to always protect you. Because I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you if I can help it. Because you're my heart and soul and the thought of life without you in it kills me. Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Because you're my Brie just like I'm your Pay and that's the way it's going to be … forever."

They sat in silence, Gabriella slowly relaxing against the blonde as time passed. Eventually, the two were positioned where Gabriella had both legs swung over Sharpay's right leg, the right side of her body molded against the blonde's front, Sharpay's head propped upon hers, and their arms around the other's waist.

"You know you can't expect me to forgive you every time you say something like that," the brunette mumbled. She felt a vibration as the blonde chuckled lightly.

"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to keep doing it until it doesn't work anymore. Then, after that I'll have to think of something else."

"Don't do anything like that again, okay?" Gabriella pleaded as she looked straight into the other girl's eyes.

"I won't if I don't have to," Sharpay promised vaguely. "If someone hurts you, I'll make sure that person hurts tenfold."

"But –"

"Remember that night we were watching South of Nowhere? It was the episode where Spencer got that black eye. Remember what Ashley told her at the end of that episode?" Receiving a nod she quoted the ending. "_'__Here's the thing: I was protecting you. And when it comes down to having the choice of being right or protecting you, I'll be wrong every single time. Because it's just who I am.'_ I'm your Ashley; I don't want to see you hurt."

"God! When'd you become so cheesy?" Gabriella asked trying to lighten the mood.

"When I started dating you."

"You were quoting a TV show," Gabriella stated. "That's about as cheesy as it gets. But I love you for it."

"Almost as much as I love you," Sharpay declared with a quick peck on the brunette's nose causing her to smile, crinkling said nose. "So Brie, what shall we do on our day off?"

"Can we just stay in bed? Watch movies and snuggle?" her girlfriend asked, eyes twinkling with hope.

"And only get up for food and the bathroom? That sounds like an awesome idea. Let me change into some pajamas and then I'll grab some junk food from the cupboard while you pick out the movies."

"And can we have Chinese tonight?" Gabriella asked with the same hopeful eyes.

"Anything for my baby Brie." With one last kiss the two separated to do their tasks.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Eight hours later the front door of the Evans mansion opened and Ryan walked in along with the rest of the gang (Kelsi, Taylor, Chad, Jason and Zeke). The girls were talking animatedly about going shopping that Friday as the guys trailed behind. Settling down in the kitchen Ryan and Jason went to get drinks.

"Where're Gabi and Shar?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know, after this morning Shar came back home but she and Gabi could be anywhere by now," Ryan replied. "I tried calling Shar but her phone must be off or something."

"Gabi wasn't answering either," Taylor added. "Do you think they're okay?"

"I'm sure nothing's wrong," Zeke said with confidence.

"How can you be sure?"

"Gaby and Shar skipped school today right?" Getting five nodding heads he continued. "What do those two do like ninety percent of the time they take a day off?"

The group sat in silence for a few seconds before the answer hit them.

"Stay in bed," Kelsi started.

"Watch movies," Taylor added.

"And eat junk food," the guys finished.

"Do you think they're asleep already?" Taylor asked.

"Depends on what movies they're watching," Ryan stated logically.

"After what happened this morning I'm thinking Gabi picked romance," Kelsi said.

"No way, it's got to be comedy," Jason reasoned.

"Nu uh, Shar probably got her to put a horror on," Zeke smirked.

"You're all wrong. Action's the way to go," Chad said.

"No way it's action after this morning. I'm saying Gabi put on some Disney movie," Taylor declared.

"I know my twin and I'm saying it's gonna be a romantic comedy," Ryan stated.

"Are we going towards a bet?" Chad asked.

"How much?" Zeke wondered.

"The usual? Guys against girls, if one of the girls is right we'll do whatever they want for a day. If the guys win, which we will, you girls have to do what we want," Ryan recited. "Deal?"

"Deal!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Walking up they quietly crept into the room to find the couple napping, the TV still playing the current movie. They walked over to the movies stacked near the DVD player and scanned through them.

"_The Notebook, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Blood and Chocolate, and Charlie's Angels,_"Taylor read. "Ha! We were right Disney and romance."

"We won! We won! We won!" Taylor and Kelsi chanted as they high-fived and did their victory dance (coz everyone has one).

"But there's action, too!" Chad whined as the other three guys agreed. "It's gotta be a draw!"

"Nu uh, cos there's only one action whereas there are two romances and two Disney movies so we win," Kelsi stated.

"And majority rules," Taylor added.

"Damn. What do you two want?" Jason asked as the guys hung their head in defeat.

"Well, we were talking about shopping before so …" Taylor started looking over at Kelsi. They shared a look before facing the four boys.

"We were thinking about you driving us to the mall and holding our bags," Kelsi said.

"And no whining or bitching allowed!" Taylor finished.

"Am I allowed to bitch and whine?"

"No, none of you are allowed to –" Taylor stopped mid-sentence when she realized who the person she addressing was.

"Shar!" everyone exclaimed as they turned around.

Hand on her hip, eyebrow raised Sharpay asked, "Why are you all in my room? I'm sure you weren't invited in." If it was one thing she hated it was when people went into her room uninvited.

"Um, uh, you see the thing is, um," Ryan stuttered.

"And not only that, you come in here yelling and talking loudly, waking me and Brie up from our nap," the blonde points out. Looking over to the bed low and behold said brunette is leaning against the headboard watching the scene in front of her, amusement dancing in her eyes. "You know what? Just get out."

"But Shar –"

"Out. Brie and I are going to change and meet you downstairs in a bit," Sharpay spoke with much authority. At this the group's faces turned to relief, happy they weren't getting yelled at.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After the last person left the room and shut the door Sharpay got back into bed, resting her head on Gabriella's blanket covered lap. Looking adoringly at her girlfriend the brunette began playing with the blonde's golden locks as the latter snuggled further into her lap. Five minutes pass by and the two have yet to move from their positions. "Pay? I think we should get up. You told the gang that we'll meet them down there."

"Don't care, I'm comfy," Sharpay mumbled.

"Baby we can continue this later tonight. Right now we should hang out with our friends. How about I make a deal with you?"

Definitely intrigued, the blonde moved onto her back looking at the girl above her. "Continue."

"We get up right now and later," Gabriella proposed as she leaned down, now whispering seductively into the blonde's ear. "Later you can do whatever you want with me."

"Are you sure about that? I mean after what happened?" Sharpay asked voice filled with concern.

Sighing Gabriella cupped the blonde's face, looking directly into her eyes. "I already told you that I'm not going to let him scare us out of living our lives. What's done is done and now we have to get pass it and move on. Body and soul, I'm still yours. I'm glad you worry about me this much but I'm okay."

"So you're positive that you're okay with this? I mean we can wait for as long as you want," Sharpay declared.

"I'm one hundred and ten percent positive," Gabriella confirmed. "Now back to my offer, is it a deal?"

"Are you sure? _Whatever_ I want?" the blonde asked, still a little apprehensive.

"Mmhmm, _whatever_ you want."

"Shake on it?"

"And sealed with a kiss," the brunette confirmed. After doing so the blonde leapt from the bed, running into her huge walk-in closet in order to change. Chuckling lightly Gabriella followed Sharpay into her closet muttered quietly to herself, "My protector: the eccentric drama queen." _I wonder what we're doing tonight …_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**Later that Night**

"AAAHHHHHHH! BBRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!" Sharpay exclaimed, unable to believe what had just happened. Looking at the cheeky brunette sitting on the couch she began to glare. "You cheated!"

"What? No I didn't," Gabriella responded, tilting her head to the right. "Not my fault you suck at Soul Calibur."

"No way, you totally cheated!" the blonde persisted.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did!"

"Nu uh."

"Uh huh. You pushed me! I can't believe you pushed me!"

"I'm still going with what I said before: I didn't do anything. You fell off the couch on your own."

"I can't believe you're cheating! And over a game!" Sharpay was in disbelief. A moment passed before she began to smirk. "I've taught you well."

"What can I say? I'm a fast learner," Gabriella responded, receiving a quick peck on the lips. "Want a rematch?"

Sharpay raised an eyebrow. "Bring it."


End file.
